End the games on debt ceiling: Another view

A radical faction of House members is flirting with the notion of tying legislation to raise the country’s borrowing capacity to defunding or delaying Obamacare, or possibly some other demand. The current shutdown of the federal government is harmful to the economy, but it pales in comparison to the global financial crisis that could result from the U.S. not paying its debts.

Even entertaining such a possibility or allowing a lengthy debate to continue on the topic leading up to the Oct. 17 deadline could have serious consequences for the economy.

Mercifully, it appears U.S. House Speaker John Boehner is indicating to his Republican colleagues that he will stop this madness. Reports on Thursday said Boehner is willing to pass a bill to raise the debt ceiling with mostly Democratic votes if he has to.

Any measure to raise the debt ceiling should be a “clean bill,” without conditions.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs said, “Under no conditions would I allow the United States to default on its bond obligations to pay the national debt. This is a binding legal and moral obligation. Apart from raising the debt ceiling, there is more than enough money coming into the treasury each month to stay current on these obligations. The full faith and credit of the United States must not be questioned.”

We believe the nation’s nearly $17 trillion debt is outrageously high and that Washington should take serious, long-term steps to address spending and revenue to reduce it.

But playing chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States is quite another matter. On Thursday, the Treasury warned that a default could freeze credit markets, send the value of the dollar spiraling downward and jack interest rates sky high.

This is the second time since 2011 that the self-destruction clock has counted down so far. And it’s a good opportunity to ask why we have a debt “ceiling” at all. In 2011, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, proposed changing the law to give the president the authority to raise the debt ceiling, something that Congress could then vote to stop if it wanted.

We think this idea, from a conservative Republican, is a good one and could put an end to the crises we’ve faced the last few years.